WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29, 2017

GRANTS -- The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) is seeking volunteers to help evaluate proposals for grants that have funded prized land acquisitions for wildlife and trails and facilities across the state. RCO is looking to fill vacancies on three advisory committees that...

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 22, 2017

PARKS -- Washington State Parks are offering their own sort of deal for Black Friday -- free access. Entrance fees and Discover Pass requirements for vehicles will be waived on the day after Thanksgiving. The passes cost $10 a day or $30 for a year....

THURSDAY, NOV. 16, 2017

TRAILS -- A statewide non-profit outdoor service group is looking for more members to achieve its simple goal of keeping Idaho's nonmotorized trails open and usable. The Idaho Trails Association is looking for more members to join trail building and maintenance projects next season, said...

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 15, 2017

CONSERVATION – A Sandpoint videographer has pledged to donate a $10,000 prize to to a local land trust project if enough people go online to vote for his film, “Land is my Sasquatch.” The video by Scott Rulander is among 10 finalists in a competition...

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8, 2017

FISHERIES -- Sullivan Lake is a great option for getting out to enjoy what's left of fall colors -- on the forest and on the fish! The Western larch needles are yellow and the crimson-colored kokanee are running from the lake into Harvey Creek where...

MONDAY, NOV. 6, 2017

PREDATORS -- An elk hunter got the benefit of the doubt for killing a wolf in self-defense in northeastern Oregon last month, the first time that’s happened since the predator began migrating to the state in the late 1990s, state police said Thursday. The story...

SATURDAY, NOV. 4, 2017

TRAILS --With new pole structures set and the majority of wire strung for Avista's transmission line rebuild project, Spokane South Hill bluff trail closures for safety are nearly over. All trails will be open Sunday, Nov. 5, for the Bloomsday Road Runners Club Cross Country...

FRIDAY, OCT. 27, 2017

HIKING -- The future for mountain goats on North Idaho's Scotchman Peak is brighter, thanks to "goat ambassadors" who have been hiking the popular trail to educate hikers on avoiding contact with the goats. The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness (FSPW) have wrapped up a...

TUESDAY, OCT. 24, 2017

TRAILS – Progress in research, mapping and planning a public trail corridor along Hangman Creek will be presented at a open house meeting on Saturday, Oct. 28, starting at 1 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 5810 S. Meadowlane Rd. in Spokane. The Hangman-Latah Creek...

MONDAY, OCT. 23, 2017

TRAILS -- It's a perfect day for flying, which means some of the popular trails on Spokane's South Hill bluff are closed today through most of Tuesday as a helicopter working for Avista hauls materials for a transmission line rebuild project. The helicopter is flying...

FRIDAY, OCT. 20, 2017

WILDFIRES – A 15-year-old boy who allegedly started a wildfire by tossing fireworks along a hiking trail in Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge, with the blaze causing evacuations, the closing of an interstate highway and causing ash to rain down on Portland, has been charged...

TRAILS -- Portions of the South Hill bluff trails are set to be closed on Monday and Tuesday as Avista uses a helicopter to fly in new power poles for a transmission line rebuild project. Depending on weather conditions, the helicopter will be flying Oct....

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11, 2017

TRAILS – Readers had lingering questions, and so the The Spokesman-Review, about last Sunday’s story about a woman who was struck from behind by a bicyclist as she walked on the Spokane River Centennial Trail. The Spokane Police Department told Virginia Pearsall, 67, that no...

THURSDAY, OCT. 5, 2017

TRAILS -- I often see and hear about close calls between cyclists and walkers on the Spokane River Centennial Trail. Sure it can go both ways. I've seen walkers in groups rudely taking up the entire trail as others approached, or walkers with dogs on...

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4, 2017

HIKING -- Three “triple crown” hikers and one “double-triple crowner” will be among the presenters at the Fall Hikers Fest on Oct. 14 at Lake City Church, 6000 N. Ramsey Rd. in Coeur d’Alene. This is a place to learn from those who have learned...

TUESDAY, SEPT. 26, 2017

GEOLOGY – Ice Age Floods Institute experts will lead two hikes to learn the geology of features such as a giant cave arch in central Washington’s upper Grand Coulee in October. Geologist-authors Gene Kiver and Bruce Bjornstad will lead groups to: Castle Lake Basin, Oct....

MONDAY, SEPT. 25, 2017

TRAILS -- A volunteer work party to thin brush and prune trees to reduce fire danger on a portion of the South Hill bluff is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, organized by Friends of the South Hill Bluff. "Fires on the bluff threaten the whole...

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14, 2017

WILDFIRES -- Faced with a red-flag wind warning, the road from Mazama to Harts Pass and a popular trailhead for the Pasayten Wilderness was closed today -- on the eve of Washington's high-mountain buck deer hunting season -- because of the Diamond Creek Fire. Apparently...

WILDFIRES -- Faced with a red-flag wind warning, the road from Mazama to Harts Pass and a popular trailhead for the Pasayten Wilderness was closed today -- on the eve of Washington's high-mountain buck deer hunting season -- because of the Diamond Creek Fire. Apparently...

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2017

TRAILS -- Some South Hill bluff trails will be temporarily closed off and on during the next two months as Avista uses vehicles and occasionally a helicopter to replace 2.7 miles of transmission line through the area. Work has started this week and will likely...

MONDAY, SEPT. 4, 2017

TRAILS -- A Seattle native and former Boston College cross-country runner has traversed the 2,190-mile (3,524-kilometer) Appalachian Trail in record time after a sleepless, 37-hour sprint to the top of Maine’s Mount Katahdin in gale-force winds, the Associated Press reports. Joe McConaughy, known on the...

WILD FIRES -- Hikers, camper and hunters planning backcountry trips have to be more than a little aware of the the fire situation that's plaguing the Northwest this month. I was packing for an extended trip in the Indian Heaven Wilderness near Mount Adams this...

THURSDAY, AUG. 31, 2017

TRAILS -- The popular Mineral Ridge Trail overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene's Wolf Lodge Bay and recreation area will be closed to all use on Wednesday, Sept. 6 as crews seal coat the parking area, U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say....

MONDAY, AUG. 28, 2017

HIKING -- My dog, Ranger, and I followed Idaho Panhandle National Forest Trail 563 on Saturday with a group led by the Friends of the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness up to the abandoned lookout site of East Fork Peak. The route up the East Fork of...